Even In Death
by CougarGirl
Summary: Post FIN. Xena is dead but her spirit is still with Gabrielle. Through some favor of Eli's God, Xena is still able to have physical contact with Gabrielle. This is first time story, as it is my belief Xena and Gabrielle never took that physical leap in the series. First chapter rated K, but second chapter is rated M. This story contains an explicit sex scene between two women.
1. Chapter 1

Gabrielle was conflicted, because in so many ways, it was as if Xena was still there. They talked, laughed, and even touched during the days while Gabrielle travelled. But it was hard for her to remember that Xena wasn't actually there, and that she was the only one who could see or hear her. She had already gotten funny looks as she carried on half a conversation with an invisible spirit while walking through town. She had made a mental note to try and be more careful, but as long as she still had Xena as her companion, she didn't really care what people thought.

She had travelled back from the east, but needed to travel through Italy to find a boat to take her across the sea to Egypt. As always, Xena was a perfect traveling companion, but Gabrielle knew she could no longer be her protector. Gabrielle

wasn't worried, though. She had come a long way as a warrior, and was

certain she could take care of herself. But of course she would give anything to see Xena cross swords in her name again.

Xena came and went, to where Gabrielle never asked. But she knew she was probably with Eve, Solon, or any number of friends. But she was never far, and appeared every time Gabrielle called for her.

Gabrielle was reluctant to go back through Rome, too many painful memories. But she knew it was the fastest and easiest road.

"Lots of memories, huh?" Xena asked softly. Gabrielle realized she must have picked up on the bard's uneasiness as they approached the city.

"Yeah," Gabrielle looked up at Xena and smiled. "But not all bad."

Xena looked puzzled. "Really? Crucifixion? Forced to fight your own flesh and blood? Imprisoned in a gladiator's dungeon? Hunted down like dogs? Tell me which of those things are good memories?"

"Well I was with you...so..." Gabrielle blushed a bit. "That alone made it not

so bad." She looked up as Xena put an arm around her shoulder and saw a big smile on her soul mate's face.

"That's my Gabrielle. Always looking on the bright side."

Gabrielle took the hand of the arm across her shoulder and squeezed. She looked up and saw the sun fading. "I think I'm gonna make camp here."

"Really? You're almost to Rome. You'd make it by nightfall," Xena was always concerned about her, especially now that she could offer little protection beyond warning Gabrielle of potential danger.

There was a reason for Gabrielle not wanting to get to Rome. There was a reason she wanted to lay under the stars, away from the bustle of the city. It was the one place she felt most close to Xena. Camping out there alone together, like the good old days. Lately she felt another kind of emptiness, something that was left unfulfilled when Xena died. It wasn't that things were left unsaid between them. They knew they were each others

soulmates, and that they would be together for eternity. Xena knew she loved her. But did she really understand the depths of that love? Gabrielle wasn't sure. That was one topic not fully explored. It seemed known but unspoken. That left doubt in Gabrielle's mind that Xena was aware that beyond them being friends and soul mates, Gabrielle was IN love with Xena. She had been for years. Did Xena know that? Did she feel the same? If she did, why had their love never been expressed physically? The thought of making love to Xena was something Gabrielle often thought about, but had been afraid to broach the topic. She had never been with a woman before, and who knew if Xena wanted her that way. What if it ruined their friendship? On the other hand, what if it only made their relationship better? It was an internal conflict that was never resolved, and now it was too late. And yet, the questions still swirled in Gabrielle's mind, and desire still

swam in her belly. Because although Xena was gone, she was still there, all be it only with Gabrielle, and for some reason that made her desire burn more strongly.

Gabrielle set up her camp, behind some thick brush just off the road. As she sat down to prepare her dinner, her mind kept reeling. She looked up from her preparations to see Xena smiling at her.

"What are you grinning at?" She mused.

"You. You've changed so much since I met you all those years ago. You could barely gut a fish when you first started traveling with me, and look at you now," Xena was genuinely impressed and proud.

Gabrielle smiled as she went about her task. "I had a good teacher."

She pause and looked up. "Xena," her curiosity was getting the better of her. "What's it like?"

"What, being dead?" Xena splayed out her legs in front of her, sitting on a log.

"Well, yeah," Gabrielle

said slowly. But that wasn't all she meant.

"I dunno. It's strange,

wonderful, awful, peaceful, and terrifying all at the same time."

"Do you still, you know, feel? Feel emotions and senses?"

Xena sensed the tension in Gabrielle's words, and got up from her spot. She sat down on the log right next to her.

"It's hard to explain. It's not like before, when I was alive. My hearing, my sense of physically feeling things, like ground beneath my feet, this log I'm sitting on, those senses are all dulled. Like, more of a memory. It's like that for everything," she paused as Gabrielle looked down at her meal. "...except for you."

Gabrielle looked up questioningly.

Xena took her chin lightly. "When I touch you, I can feel you. When I'm near you, I can sense you. I can smell you, hear you, all those things just as much as I could when I was alive." She saw Gabrielle's shoulders relax. "Everything I felt for you before...I still

feel them. All my sensations are here, just like before. With you, it's like I'm

still alive." Her words were spoken tenderly, sincerely.

Gabrielle swallowed as she looked at Xena's lips. She so badly wanted to kiss them, to feel them on her own.

"But, aren't you supposed to be in Heaven or the Elesyian Fields, or wherever, having eternal bliss?" Gabrielle didn't want her to go. But she was curious.

Xena let go of Gabrielle's chin and shifted uncomfortably. "Do you want me to go?"

"No! That's not what I meant. I just mean, you've given up so much for those souls...you should be rewarded by an eternity of peace and love." Gabrielle was genuinely concerned that Xena's afterlife was tortuous because of her loyalty to Gabrielle.

Xena nodded and looked down. "Well, that's the thing. I come and go, here and there. Heaven, the Elesyian Fields, I go to see Eve, lots of places."

"What's heaven like?" Gabrielle asked.

Xena smiled. "It's like being enveloped by a warm blanket of love, and surrounded by every good emotion and loving caress you could ever imagine. It's a peace and love I've never experienced before. It's euphoric." Xena spoke with a passion that Gabrielle had rarely seen from her warrior.

Gabrielle was afraid to ask the next question. "Why don't you stay there? It sounds wonderful. Xena, you don't need to stick around here for me, you know." She forced that out for Xena's sake. She needed Xena desperately, but she wasn't about to stand between her love and blissful eternity.

Xena looked into Gabrielle's eyes, uncertain of what to say. Finally she realized that the truth was the only answer she could give. "It is wonderful. But even surrounded by all that goodness, I still feel the emptiness of being without you." Gabrielle looked at her, a tear threatening to fall. Xena took hold of Gabrielle's hands, which had put down the pot she had been stirring. "Gabrielle, our connection has been so strong for so long, death isn't going to break that. As wonderful as heaven is, I don't belong there. At least, not yet. I belong here with you. Even if it is only partly."

Gabrielle's tear finally broke loose and tumbled down her cheek. She closed her eyes as Xena reached up and brushed the tear away. She put her hand on Gabrielle's arm in a comforting manner. Gabrielle looked over at her lovingly. Xena smiled back, then looked down at Gabrielle's lips. Xena hadn't been lying when she told Gabrielle that she still had all the same feelings as she had before. That included her lingering, blazing desire to take the bard as her lover. She still felt the electricity between them as they sat there, broaching this sensitive subject of love and death. She had never admitted her deep love and desire to Gabrielle, too afraid to ruin their legendary friendship. But sitting here now, sensing a longing coming from her beloved bard, she wondered why. Why had she balked so many times at revealing her true feelings? What was she afraid of? Rejection? Deep down she knew Gabrielle would not reject her. Now in death it seemed so silly to have denied themselves.

Gabrielle saw something in Xena's eyes that caused a shiver to start in her spine and work it's way up to her neck. She saw desire. She knew the same look was probably shining out of her own eyes. Suddenly she was aware. She was aware that this desire for a physical exploration between them was mutual. She started to let her self succumb to these long harbored feelings. She felt herself leaning toward Xena's waiting lips, so soft, so inviting...

Gabrielle snapped out of her haze as fear enveloped her senses. She leaned back and looked back down at the pot she had forgotten about. What was she doing? Coming on to a ghost? Although there was no doubt about the desire she just saw in Xena's eyes, it was quite presumptuous to assume that a celestial being could submit herself like that. Xena

just explained that she felt alive with Gabrielle, but that didn't mean she had the capacity to kiss, make love, and have all the physical feelings as well as the emotional ones. Gabrielle was afraid to put Xena on the spot like that, and have them both be embarrassed at the inability for action.

Sensing Gabrielle's apprehension, Xena played it off to try and put her friend at ease. "You better eat that before it attracts all the critters in a five mile radius."

Gabrielle smiled through her blushing, and placed the pot over the fire to warm.


	2. Chapter 2

"You know, being dead has actually been good for me," Xena attempted to lighten the mood. It worked.

"How's that?" Gabrielle asked through a chuckle.

"Well, I haven't killed anything since I've been this way," Xena was smiling as she mused. Gabrielle looked at her, grinning.

"Well that's a definite change,"she laughed.

Xena nodded, still playing around. "I've been able to see people without them knowing I'm there. It's given me a much greater sense of who they are when no ones looking."

"Xena, have you been spying on people?!" Gabrielle feigned shock.

Xena laughed. "I guess you could say that. But you know, I've learned so much. Eve, she is such a wonderful person. So changed from the Livia we came across in Rome. She is genuinely full of love and compassion, and truly making a difference on this world."

Gabrielle nodded and half smiled. "I'm so glad you got through to her. You must be proud."

"I am."

Gabrielle smiled. "So, who else do you spy on?" She asked as she stirred the pot, bringing the spoon to her mouth to taste the soup.

Xena raised an eyebrow playfully. "Well, lets see, every once in a while I check in on the Amazons, Virgil, and I peek in on Hercules every now and again." Xena knew this last name would get a reaction, and waited eagerly.

Gabrielle couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy, even though she knew Xena was just trying to get a rise out of her. "A peek, huh? I certainly hope you haven't turned into a peeping Tom," she said, really only half joking. Xena jabbed Gabrielle in the ribs with her elbow, indicating she was teasing. Gabrielle paused and then asked, "do you ever spy on me?" She looked at Xena seriously as she spooned a mouthful of soup into her mouth.

Xena tried to smother her grin. "Only when you're sleeping. Every time I try to spy on you, you're aware of my presence before I get the opportunity."

"In what circumstance would you want to watch me without me knowing?"

Xena leaned back, reclining on the log. "Oh, I dunno. When you're telling stories about me, when you're speaking with an attractive stranger," she looked over and saw Gabrielle grinning at her, eyebrows raised. She spooned some soup into her mouth slowly.

"Or when you're bathing."

Gabrielle nearly spit out her soup as she gasped. She put her hand over her mouth as she swallowed. Xena laughed quietly as Gabrielle coughed. "Xena! So you ARE turning into a peeping Tom!" She gently wiped away the soup trickling down her chin and felt her cheeks turning red.

Xena felt satisfied that she had affected Gabrielle in this way with her admission.

"Well at least it wasn't Hercules I was spying on. Besides, it's not like watching him would get me all hot n bothered." Xena bit her bottom lip as she realized what she had just confessed. Watching Gabrielle made her hot n bothered.

Gabrielle noticed and looked up to meet Xena's gaze. She could see Xena waiting for her response. Gabrielle just smiled and returned to her soup.

The next candlemark was spent in relative silence with some light friendly banter as Gabrielle finished her soup and cleaned her dishes. As she settled down onto her bedroll, leaning against the log, Gabrielle could barely harness in her want. They had beaten all around the preverbal bush tonight, and she could hardly stand the tension anymore. Xena sat on the log next to her, slightly wringing her hands. She could feel the tension too, but was reluctant to push Gabrielle any more than she already had.

"Xena, come sit with me," Gabrielle patted the soft bedroll next to her. Xena obeyed and looked at Gabrielle with a soft smile. Xena put her hands along her sides, holding herself up by placing her palms against the soft furs. Gabrielle looked down at where her hands met the bedroll. "So, I want to understand. You said your senses are dulled. What do you feel as your touching the fur?"

Xena looked down at her own hand, and ran it along the fabric. "It's not really a sense of feeling. It's more like myself remembering how it felt. But it's not as strong as it was when I was alive."

Gabrielle nodded in understanding. She picked up the dagger she had pulled off her belt a while ago and held it out for Xena to touch. "What about this?"

Xena looked at the dagger and lightly ran her hands across the blade, to the hilt. She looked up and met Gabrielle's gaze. "I remember what it was like to hold this. But I can barely feel the metal. I don't feel the coldness of it in my hand, or the roughness of the grip. But I remember what it was like."

Gabrielle quietly placed the knife back in its sheath by her side. She looked back at Xena and swallowed hard. She took Xena's hand and placed the back of it on her cheek. She felt her own breath hitch as Xena's mouth fell slightly open. "What about this? What do you feel?"

Xena swallowed and the realization hit her. She knew what Gabrielle was doing. She wanted to know if Xena was capable of loving her physically. That's why she pulled away earlier. It wasn't because she didn't want Xena. It was because she was afraid that in

her ghostly state, she couldn't have the feelings to love her fully in that way. Judging by the way she was feeling now, there was no doubt in Xena's mind she was capable of it. Her desire had shot through her like a rocket, and had taken hold of her at her core. Xena looked Gabrielle squarely in the eyes, licking her lips at the sight of those glowing green orbs. "I feel...warmth. I feel your softness." She saw Gabrielle trying not to melt as Xena moved her fingers gingerly across Gabrielle's cheek. "I feel your essence, your soul. I feel...you, Gabrielle. Just as vividly and strongly as I did when I was alive."

Gabrielle blinked heavily, her passion pulling at her eye lids. She reached out slowly and touched Xena's wrist, feather light caresses moving slowly up her arm, toward her shoulder. She saw Xena's breasts heave as her breathing quickened. "What about when I touch you?" Gabrielle asked, unintentionally seductive.

Xena gasped out lightly, her skin prickling under Gabrielle's touch. She let out

a single gasping chuckle. "Now I feel warm." She flicked a smile at Gabrielle, still lost in her passion.

Gabrielle smiled, but her core had caught fire, and she could barely manage anything but a lusty gaze. Gabrielle leaned in again, but this time there was no stopping herself. "What about this?" She kept her eyes locked with Xena's blues as she slowly leaned in and allowed her lips to catch Xena's. Both women let out a soft sigh as their eyes closed. All Gabrielle's senses left her except that of Xena. Her lips were softer than she had anticipated, and she melted into them as of they were her own. Xena felt more alive than she had in all her years on Earth, and felt her body flush as her lips melded with Gabrielle's. They kissed sweetly and tenderly, but as Xena let her tongue brush against Gabrielle's lips, she felt the bard gently pull back. Xena looked into Gabrielle's eyes that were nearly black from desire. She realized that Gabrielle was waiting for an answer.

Xena tried to compose herself enough to put into words how she felt. She was never good at that. She was much better with actions. But for Gabrielle's sake she tried. "I feel...all your love for me. And all my love for you. And I feel..." Xena had one last moment of fear until she saw the look in Gabrielle's eyes reassure her. "...desire. I desire you in this way, Gabrielle. I want to love you like this." She leaned in at this last statement and took hold of Gabrielle's lips again. But this time she deepened the kiss and heard Gabrielle moan as their tongues met. The kiss grew passionate quickly, and the two women reached for the others' embrace. Hands were caressing, traveling, gripping possessively. Xena lost all sense of reason as her tongue danced sensuously with Gabrielle's. Gabrielle was tasting, learning, exploring Xena's mouth as she felt her body flush.

Xena pulled back from the passionate embrace to look Gabrielle in the eyes. They both panted from the sheer desire. "We've never done that before." Both women were still gasping for air. Xena placed her hand on Gabrielle's cheek. "So I know what I'm feeling is real. It's not just some memory."

Gabrielle looked at Xena's lips and back to her eyes. "So what do you feel?"

Xena's body tensed and her grip on Gabrielle's waist tightened. "I want you, Gabrielle. I want to make love to you," Xena's voice was low with desire, and her words were so seductive that Gabrielle gasped audibly by the sound alone. "I always have. I am so in love with you!"

Gabrielle pulled herself onto Xena so she was straddling her thighs.

"It's not too late...is it?" She begged as she cupped Xena's face.

Xena encircled her arms around her bard into a tight embrace. "No, my love!"

With that Gabrielle sunk into Xena's waiting mouth, searing both their tongues in a passionate kiss. Xena ran her hands across Gabrielle's smooth back, lightly digging in her fingernails. The kiss never broke as Gabrielle arched into Xena. Xena's mouth trailed down Gabrielle's jaw and onto her neck where she drug a line with her tongue to Gabrielle's ear. Gabrielle couldn't suppress the breathy moan as her senses soared. She ran her hands down both sides of Xena's neck and along the curve to her shoulders. When she met the leather straps of her corset, she grasped them with strong fingers and pulled them, sliding them down Xena's shoulders. In response, Xena reached the strings holding Gabrielle's top and pulled, loosening the garment. Gabrielle leaned back slightly, allowing Xena to pull the top from her body. She gently tossed it aside and refocused her hands along Gabrielle's now naked back. She ran the length of her with her palms, softly caressing every inch of her back as she gently sucked and licked Gabrielle's neck.

Gabrielle's grip tightened around the leather straps now at Xena's elbows, the tight fabric refusing to budge any further. Sensing Gabrielle's efforts, Xena leaned forward, allowing Gabrielle to reach behind her and pull the strings on her leather bodice. As she felt it loosen, she pulled back and looked into Gabrielle's eyes.

Gabrielle's breath was lost to her when Xena looked up at her. The normally dazzling blue eyes had darkened so deeply that Gabrielle imagined them as black holes, and she had fallen into them. With that Xena pushed Gabrielle off to her side and onto the soft bedroll. Xena sat up on her knees and pulled her leather suit off her shoulders, tossing it into a pile. At once she laid down the length of Gabrielle kissing her again, their bare breasts smashed against each other. Xena could feel the heat coming off Gabrielle's center through her undergarments as her skirt rode up her body. That intensified Xena's own fire as she pressed against Gabrielle's body. She pulled back, to look at her bard's beautiful form. She had seen this body a thousand times before, but never offered to her in this way. Xena ran her hands down Gabrielle's neck and to her breasts. She teased her nipples with the backs of her hands only in passing as she continued down to the top of Gabrielle's skirt. She hissed out between her teeth as she grasped and pulled down, removing both the skirt and undergarments in one swoop. Climbing off Gabrielle to discard her clothes, Xena removed the remaining layer of her own. She climbed back up the Bard's body, kissing as she went. She felt Gabrielle's body react as she kissed a nipple, sending spasms down her length straight to her core. Xena could smell both of their sex, sending her even higher. Xena left a wet trail from Gabrielle's nipple up to her collarbone and to the hollow of her throat. She felt Gabrielle's soft hands pull Xena's hips down toward her, and Xena settled herself down as she reached the swollen lips of her lover. Both women gasped into each others mouths as their wet centers met for the first time. They continued frenzied kisses, and Xena felt Gabrielle's hips roll up to meet her. Xena pulled from the kiss and gasped into the bard's neck. She had to cry out Gabrielle's name as she felt their cores meet time and time again. Gabrielle was unconsciously digging her nails into Xena's back, as she felt she was tumbling toward an edge somewhere. She had never felt such bliss, such pleasure, and her mind had surrendered to her body long ago. She didn't have much sexual experience, but damned if she didn't know what she wanted, especially with her soulmate. She had imagined herself making love to Xena so many times, she had thought of a dozen ways she wanted the warrior. When she heard Xena call her name, she suddenly received a flood of passion and confidence. She shoved out from under Xena, forcing her onto her back. She threw her

leg over Xena so she was straddling her.

The rush of power from the bard took Xena off guard and she felt the air whoosh out from her lungs as she ends up on her back. It was so unexpected and so...sexy! Xena's jaw lagged as she looked up at Gabrielle, straddling her, breasts swaying, look of passion, and it was all for her. Xena reached up with both hands and cupped Gabrielle's breasts, the hard nipples pressing into her palms. Seeing Gabrielle arch into her touch and throw her head back nearly drove Xena wild. Gabrielle was slowly rocking her hips against Xena, and she heard herself wimper. Never had a lover had this effect on her. She was a puddle of warrior princess. And it was her beloved Gabrielle who had her undone. But when Gabrielle grabbed Xena's right hand off her bosom and pushed it down toward her hot center, Xena nearly blacked out with desire. Where had this side of her come from!? Xena never knew her sweet bard contained such passion for her. For only her. Xena felt herself dripping.

When Gabrielle led Xena to where she most desired contact, she couldn't stop herself. Her need was so great, her body was moving of its own accord. As Xena's hand was led to Gabrielle's wet core, she gasped as she slid her hand across her soulmate's essence. Seeing Gabrielle's head snap back as she ground her hips into Xena's contact made her cry out right along with Gabrielle. She hissed in a breath, trying to rein in her passion. She didn't want to rush this, or hurt Gabrielle. Her resolve slowly dissipated as Gabrielle looked down at her and placed her hands on Xena's breasts. Gabrielle looked Xena in the eyes, all her passion and desire that had been bottled up pouring out in every direction. Xena was amerced in so many senses at once, she couldn't focus on any one in particular. Except for the feeling of her love in her hand. As Gabrielle slowly pumped her hips toward Xena's hands, Xena did all she could from taking the bard fully by penetrating. She wanted to draw this out, but it was getting more difficult by the moment. She wanted desperately to feel her loves core and drive her over the edge. She was steadfast in allowing Gabrielle to ride her pleasure as it was until the deep throaty growl escaped Gabrielle's throat.

"Xena! Please...!"

The look of want in Gabrielle's eyes sent Xena past the point of no return and she finally gave in. She gently thrust her fingers into her beloved and gasped as Gabrielle cried out in sheer ecstasy. Xena's eyes followed Gabrielle's head, flung back, exposing her silky throat. Down to her beautiful breasts, swaying with the movement. Gabrielle's hands had moved to Xena's thighs, supporting her weight slightly behind her body. Xena's free hand slid down Gabrielle's breast to her taut stomach, and rested there as Gabrielle rocked herself back and forth on Xena's hand.

Gabrielle was out of her mind with pleasure. The moment Xena touched her she practically went blind. But the moment she penetrated her, Gabrielle thought she would die right there. And, oh, what a way to go. Her hips were out of control, begging for the very touch that Xena seemed to know she needed. Xena. This was her Xena. Finally. Touching her as she had only dreamed. She felt like she was adrift in swirling white water, with the plunging waterfall just on the horizon.

Xena could feel Gabrielle's soul wrapping around hers. She always knew they were connected, but this moment of intimacy was above anything that Xena expected. She felt Gabrielle's peak start to build, and in response her hips started to buck, satisfying her own need for contact. With Xena pressing into her core, and now bucking against her own movements, Gabrielle cried out as her waterfall approached. Her hips moved faster as Xena's fingers hit just the right spot. As her breathing and thrusts increased, she felt something change in Xena as well. She heard her moan, and looked down to see her loves face. It was more glorious than she had ever seen the warrior. Bangs pasted to her forehead, eyes ablaze with passion, and mouth hung open in ecstasy. Locking eyes with those blue eyes was enough to send her over the edge of the waterfall. She flew off the edge on a fury, and cried out loudly and uncontrollably.

When Xena saw Gabrielle look down at her, going over her edge, suddenly she was thrown to the edge herself. And once she felt Gabrielle tighten around her fingers and begin to spasm, Xena flew over the edge into an abyss she had never experienced on all her exploits. She tumbled over all worlds she ever knew, and flew to heights she had never reached before. Gabrielle had thrust and bucked through her peak and finally was able to gain her bearings as she saw Xena going over the same edge. Eyes clenched, mouth open, crying out her name. HER name. Gabrielle. Her warrior princess. Her own.

Gabrielle collapsed like a fallen soldier onto Xena's chest, heaving with short breaths.

Xena's eyes bulged with the realization of what happened, and grasped onto Gabrielle with abandon. This was hers. Her bard, best friend, soul mate, love of her life, was finally her lover.

As their breathing subsided, Gabrielle slid off Xena's body and settled into the nestle of Xena's neck and cuddled with her love. She sighed and gripped onto Xena like she might disappear. Because, well, she might.

Xena had one arm around Gabrielle, and the other pressed against her forehead in disbelief. She finally felt the need to speak. "Gab-wow-um-" she blew air out in exasperation, unable to voice what she was feeling.

She felt Gabrielle shift in her embrace, reaching up to brush the short locks from her eyes.

She sighed deeply. "Xena," she rolled back into Xena's embrace. "That was...wow...why did we wait so long to do that?!"

Xena had to laugh at her beloved's admission, and squeezed her into her embrace. "I guess maybe. We just weren't ready." She felt Gabrielle's head lift off her shoulder, and didn't have to look to see the questioning look on her face. Xena smiled. "We'll, maybe separately we were ready, but it took a while for us to be ready together."

Gabrielle scoffed. "It took death?"

Xena squeezed Gabrielle's shoulder. "I guess so. Xena, I love you," Gabrielle clung to Xena's body desperately as she started to doze off.

Xena squeezed Gabrielle close and kissed her on the top of the head. She whispered the same words back to Gabrielle as she felt her love fall into Morpheus' realm.


End file.
